If you can pay the price for these Manhattan properties, which have ties to one of the nation’s greatest authors, you can call yourself the Beast of Eden.
A pair of Manhattan townhouses where John Steinbeck once lived are up for sale for a combined $18 million.
Located on East 78th Street, the residences are also available to purchase separately, at $8.95 million apiece.
Steinbeck, who won a Nobel Prize in literature in 1962 — six years before his death — lived in one of the townhomes while renting out the other.
Known for his work in “Of Mice and Men,” “The Grapes of Wrath,” and particularly the gripping “East of Eden,” Steinbeck, a native of California, passed away at the age of 66 in December 1968.
According to the listing, Steinbeck owned the properties between 1946 and 1948.
Both houses have been owned by the same family for the last 55 years.
Standing four stories each, the red brick townhouses each come with four bedrooms and run nearly 3,000 square feet each.
One of the two townhouses has been renovated with modern touches and finishes. The other is described as having “old-school charm,” with a classic design that features tall ceilings, woodburning fireplaces and a sculptural staircase. It also has an elevator servicing each floor.
Combined, they also have more than 2,000 square feet of outdoor space.
Elizabeth Sahlman, Meredith Verona, Becca Schreiber and Lorand Kovacs of Corcoran hold the listing.
“It is extremely rare that you can have two houses that are perfectly aligned and can be joined and be one house and have an almost [60 foot by 40 foot backyard that spans the width of the property] and on a beautiful townhouse block,” Sahlman told Mansion Global. “And also that it was once inhabited by John Steinbeck.”
“It’s right in the center of everything: the best markets, all transportation, you’re close to Central Park, you’ve got a garage right across the street,” Verona added. “The convenience factor is huge and it’s a very pretty tree-lined street.”
Steinbeck’s final home was on the 34th floor of a high-rise at 190 E. 72nd St., which went up for sale in 2018 — and even included his old desk.
